


Until You Can Say You're Home

by TheShadowEclipse



Category: Gintama
Genre: Angst, Angst and Feels, Canon - Manga, Canon Compliant, Drama, Family, Family Drama, Friendship, Gen, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Parenthood, Reunions, Separations, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-03
Updated: 2019-01-11
Packaged: 2019-05-17 13:31:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,614
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14833194
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheShadowEclipse/pseuds/TheShadowEclipse
Summary: After two years away from the ruins of the Kabuki District, Gintoki returns with an unexpected companion. More than a few things are different now. More than a few things remain the same. SPOILERS FOR GINTAMA 670+One night, Otose receives a traveler after shop hours. Her bar is closed, but perhaps she'll make an exception to share a drink with this customer.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> SPOILERS FOR GINTAMA AFTER CH. 670, some not animated yet as of 2018!  
> 

"We're going to close shop now, Mu-san," Ayano said as she picked up the empty plate in front of him. When the red faced man only replied with unintelligible babble, she sighed.

"Help Mu-san home a few blocks, Catherine. He might get lost on the way again."

The plump old salaryman was still a regular at Snack Otose, even after all that had happened in the last few years. When the district recovered after the war and she had opened up the shop again, he was one of the first to reappear.

 _"No other place like this in the world, Otose-san,"_ he had said with a signature jolly grin aimed at her _. "Feels right like home."_

 _"I wouldn't expect your wife to be happy that a Snack Bar feels like home,"_ she had said with a dry smile.

Another cup of alcohol disappeared down his throat and his next drawl had told her he was already drunk. _"Wouldn't be like the Kabuki District without this place."_

She suspected that he might have been talking about more than just her snack bar. Perhaps it had to do with the apartment upstairs that she couldn't bring herself to simply rent out anymore, and the sign that had once again gone up above her shop after being broken for so long. It was a friendly sign that stood for a renewed sense of safety and security in this town. It stood for those who had always helped to ensure it.

Despite the fact that the man who the sign was named after was gone, perhaps it was enough for the people that his apprentice had carried on the business.

"Otose-san," Catherine's grumbling brought her thoughts back to the present. "No matter what we do, this bumbling fool is sure to get lost."

"Catherine," Ayano chided from behind the counter.

Despite the complaint, her Amanto assistant was already placing the red-faced and grinning man's arm over her shoulder. "Fine, fine. I'll take him some of the way."

The older woman smiled. That might mean  _the whole way._

"Let's go then," Catherine urged.  "Hey! Don't fall asleep on me, mumbling Mu-san!"

As the hobbling duo disappeared out the door and Catherine's nickname calling faded down the street, Ayano set to wipe down the counter.

The shouji door to her shop slid open.

"We're closed," she called without looking up. She was focused on a strange new stain on the wood. "Come back next night."

The subsequent apology and close of the shouji door did not come as she expected.

"Didn't you see the lights on our snack bar sign are off?" She glanced up at the stranger and the movement of her rag immediately stopped.

"Could you make an exception then?" The stranger there removed his wide brimmed hat. "Granny?"

Ayano knew the messy shock of wavy silver underneath that hat.

Her feet carried her to him without a word and he seemed to tense with her sudden approach. She recognized the instinct that appeared in his body language, oh yes she did. Ten years of his desperate bolting out of doors and windows to escape her wrathful demands for the rent taught her enough of that.

And if he ran away from her now, by the gods, she would be more than just furious.

However, it was her hands that reached him first. She cradled his cheeks. Her thumb rubbed gently against his skin just to make sure that he was real and that this old lady was not simply imagining things.

She looked at his face. Although that familiar and carefully crafted mask of his was present as ever, filled with a flagrant lack of enthusiasm for everything, there was something different now. The lines on his face were just a bit deeper than she remembered. His eyes looked heavier. The elements had browned his skin a little more and it was all enough to tell her about the length of his travels.

They stared at each other.

Barely an expression passed on his face but she noticed how he swallowed before he moved next. If Ayano could see her own face, there would be shock written all over it as he leaned down to give her an uncharacteristic embrace.

In the short seconds that passed, she allowed herself to be his support. To partake in the worries of the sad air that plagued him. To help him forget, if only for a few brief moments. She felt it all in that rare embrace - the weight of the lead he had always carried on his shoulders. 

Once more, Ayano wondered about the stubborn nature of everything that still kept that burden there... Even after all this time since she had taken him as a boy on death's doorstep.

"You're terrible," she said. "Not a single letter to this old woman in two whole years."

They pulled away and she caught the barest hint of a tired smile. "The places I went to never had anywhere to send letters from."

"Absolute nonsense. Our prime minister has done with communication reforms all over the country."

"Zura has, huh?" He scratched at his head. "I really didn't see anything."

"I know how you are with your excuses." She wagged a finger at him. "I've suffered over a decade's worth of excuses."

"What's one more to add to the pile then, gran?" That smile was just a little bit wider now.

Ayano sighed. She moved to make her way back around the counter. "Well then?" she said expectantly. "What are you standing there for, Gintoki? With one foot in and the other out of my shop? Make up your mind yet?" The man looked at her with surprise.

"Come have a drink."

He stayed glued to the same spot and she eyed him, feeling his hesitation to take even a real step in.

"Gran, I-"

"Don't get me wrong," she interrupted, lighting a cigarette. "You haven't said anything like _I'm back._ Now although some people may find it hard to believe, I know you're capable of better manners than that. So until you say that, I can't properly greet you and say _welcome home."_

She took a whiff and exhaled the smoke. "You're just a customer right now and I'm simply putting this free drink on your rather long-running tab." The old woman offered him a smile. "So let's catch up a little before you run off again."

"Tch." Gintoki rubbed at the back of his head, looking peeved. The same old flustered mannerisms she knew. He finally came closer and set the hat down. "Damn old hag. Fine. If that's what you want. _Fine_."

~x~

Outside Snack Otose, a figure leaning on the wall smoked a kiseru. Shinsuke Takasugi watched the first rays of sunlight poke from behind the broken terminal in the distance.

It had taken him the better part of the night to drag that stubborn coward here, but perhaps the conversation he could overhear within the bar was enough of a compensation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In a Japanese household, the moment you arrive back home you announce to your family 'tada ima.' It's like saying "I'm home!" When they hear, your family replies back 'okaeri.' "Welcome back." That's what some of the last dialogue between Gintoki and Otose is referring to.
> 
> The next chapters also explore themes inspired by the recent developments. I'll update tags as we go. It's amazing how many extreme lows and highs Sorachi Hideaki has been packing into this roller coaster of a series recently.
> 
> I had this idea before it was revealed that those two delinquent brats were setting sail for Edo, but I thought that there was no way Gintoki could bring himself to go and see that beloved old lady of his so easily. Then Gintama 682 gave us a tiny glimpse about a hidden side of Shinsuke. Maybe Gintoki just needs an encouraging kick in the backside?
> 
> By the way... Noticed how a single boat ride with Gintoki cured those eyebags of Shinsuke's? Even though they refuse to see their families of the Kiheitai and Yorozuya, maybe they'll be alright with each other.
> 
> Next time on this story... is Ayano going to meet Shinsuke?


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nostalgia, sake, and another ...parting?

Gintoki grasped the small drinking cup, staring at the clear liquid idly. Did it taste the same as all the times he had come down to Snack Otose for one over the years? He couldn't remember. It seemed like a lifetime ago.

 Maybe it really had been a lifetime. That would explain why he barely recognized the new buildings, the construction work - an Edo bustling with more technology and modernity than he had ever seen before. Out of the destruction of the old had the new really come.

 And yet, sitting there, he could almost forget about it all. He felt a strange comfort seeing that the Kabuki District was one thing that hadn't changed so much. This snack shop especially, despite its damaged facade, was no different than he remembered on the inside. It was surreal to realize that he was here despite once believing that he would never return again in his life.

 For a moment, he closed his eyes and their lives had never changed. A drunk Taizou was laughing heartily beside him as he elbowed him to laugh at a suggestive joke. Shinpachi was at the karaoke machine in the back, pouring his heart out to one of Otsuu's songs. Gintoki knew his off-key singing would eventually provoke a complaint from the rest of the bar's customers. Catherine and Kagura were fighting over some trivial issue of food. Tama was entertaining regular guests in the booths with a bright smile and helpful advice from her accumulated data. Sarutobi was at the end of the counter too, trading casual insults with Tae while they both talked about things. Kyuubei sipped her drink silently at Tae's side. A tipsy Kotarou moved between everyone, inadvertently adding fuel to all the volatile fires whenever he opened his mouth to give his tactless two-cents on something. All in all, a rowdy full-house for Snack Otose.

 And Ayano, district matriarch… She was there behind the counter with her customary cigarette and a strangely content smile.

 "Are you going to ask?"

 The familiar laughter and loud voices from his memory faded away as the words pulled him back to reality. When he opened his eyes and saw her there, he realized she was the only one that hadn't disappeared.

 Gintoki looked up at her. They had only been in silence up until now. "I don't need to say anything, do I?"

 Ayano smiled.

 "Well then?" He downed the rest of his drink, letting out the words like they were a hassle to say. "How is everyone? How have they all been doing? Why haven't you rented out that shitty apartment upstairs yet?"

 "How should I rent something that still has a previous contract on it?" She huffed in annoyance. "It's only shitty because you left it that way, stupid curly!"

 "You need to get your memory checked, old bat," he muttered, his tone turning childish out of habit. "It's not my fault that the place ended up wrecked last time!"

 Ayano let out a sigh and lifted the cigarette to her lips. "Shinpachi's fixing it up already."

 Gintoki looked up at her in surprise.

 "Didn't you see the sign back up? He's started up the business again," she explained simply.

 He frowned.  _"Why?_ Wasn't he going to restore his father's dojo? _"_

 "Last I heard, Otae was doing well as head of Kodokan. She's started a new training program to attract students. As for Shinpachi, maybe he wants to keep a legacy of yours alive. Maybe he has nothing better to do." She refilled his cup. "Though he's matured a lot, you know. That boy."

 "Odd jobs aren't anything important enough to waste time on," Gintoki said, shaking his head. "There's other things he could use his talents on."

 Ayano hummed, a twinkle in her eye. "I wonder about that. Did you forget how many people's lives that work has touched in this district alone? Shinpachi knows. It's in that boy's nature to enjoy being helpful to others."

 The crease between Gintoki's eyebrows didn't disappear. Shinpachi's motivated words from two years ago replayed in his head.

  _Liar,_ Gintoki thought with some defeat. Just what he had suspected. Shinpachi had been putting up a cheerful front to keep him from worrying since he had announced his intention to leave _._

  _He's just like his sister._

 He sighed. "Any word from Kagura?"

 "She sends letters. She's doing well. That's it."

 "I'm glad," he said, but there was a tightness in his chest. They both knew what those uncharacteristically reticent letters meant about Sadaharu's state.

 She hadn't found a way to restore the Inugami back.

 He looked up at the ceiling, feeling like he didn't want to know the answer to his next words. "Seeing how this place is still pretty banged up and Catherine's probably the same old incompetent help as always, am I correct in assuming old Gengai hasn't reactivated Tama yet?"

 "Don't talk about others as if you were any better," Ayano rebuked. "And Tama's missing something," she continued softly. "A screw of some sort. Even Gengai isn't so sure. And yet, just yesterday he brought me a delightful surp-"

 A light rap on the shouji door interrupted her words. After hearing it, Gintoki stood up abruptly.

 "You're here with someone," Ayano realized.

 The samurai grabbed his sedge hat from the counter. "Don't let Shinpachi know I was here, granny. Don't let  _anyone_ know. Last thing I need is a pack of clingy women and children out to get in my way."

 "You do understand how much everyone misses a certain good-for-nothing man?" Ayano said.

 "If he's a good-for-nothing, they're better off without him anyway," he responded nonchalantly, settling the hat on snug before making his way to the entrance.

 She gave an all-suffering sigh. " _Gintoki,"_  she called, her enunciation demanding attention.

 Hesitantly, he looked back. He knew  _that tone._

 "Aren't you forgetting something?"

 It was impossible to stop the disgust from appearing on his face. "You don't ever let me forget about the rent, you rotten old hag."

 She smiled. "I'll be sending you reminders until you come back to pay it. I mean it."

  _Until you come back home._

 He opened the shouji door, hiding the smile on his face as he waved a hand in the air. "Bye, gran."

 Ayano reached to pinch the bridge of her nose lightly. She was surprised that her eyes were misty. There was no need to say goodbye again from her end though. She waited to hear the shouji door close again.

 Abrupt noises at the entrance made her look back up.

 "What's up with you?" It was Gintoki's voice raised in protest. " _Hey!_ Watch it!" Confused, Ayano watched as something shoved him back in with enough force to stagger him off-balance. A new figure slipped in and shut the shouji to her shop swiftly.

 "Takasugi, what the heck!" Gintoki yelled as the other man turned to face him. He removed his sedge hat, revealing dark hair. A black and gold patterned haori was draped over his shoulders. Ayano caught sight of the man's face.

 The first thing she noticed were the deep circles under his eyes. She had never seen deeper eyebags on another person. Straight dark hair framed a face with a sickly looking pallor. The man's left eye was shut tightly. Despite the weariness dripping off his whole figure, there was something frighteningly familiar about his face.

 It was a face Ayano had been used to seeing plastered all over the national news over two years ago, the alleged mastermind of whatever large scale terrorist attack was going on in the country at the moment. It was a face she occasionally used to notice on government-wanted bulletins whenever she walked past them, only beat out by the local search for Katsura in Edo. It was also a face that had suddenly disappeared - along with others similar figures of note - after the cataclysm two years back.

 The infamous Kiheitai commander was in her shop.

 Too stunned to speak, she watched Gintoki react instead. "Huuh? Did you change your mind about coming in? What? Did you want to say hi to the old lady? A drink? Really man, you don't have to  _shove-_ "

 The man brought a finger to his pale lips. "Not a single  _noise_ ," he hissed, a hand splayed to emphasize.

 Gintoki became serious. "What's outside?" he whispered.

 The other samurai only looked hastily around the shop, one green eye searching with an unmistakable sense or urgency.

 "Takasugi! What's the matter?"

 The man turned his attention back to Gintoki's dumbfounded expression and said a single word. Ayano felt the deep mixture of disgust and dread in it.

  _"Shinobi."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for ending on a cliffhanger, but at least Takasugi's finally inside Snack Otose hehe
> 
> The Gintama manga is supposed to end in February's Jump Giga. (And I'm a mix of excitement and sadness!) Depending on the canon ending, I'll know where to take the end of this story too. However I already have chapters planned exploring the timeskip with a focus on some character bonds. Stay tuned. The title is called "Until You Can Say You're Home?" right, so we better be returning Gintoki and his two idiot brother-in-arms home to everyone for real by the end!! (Which means.... moments with baby Shoyo, the Kiheitai, Ikumatsu and other Kabuki District fam might just already be on the schedule...)
> 
> Thank you so much for your support everyone! Please let me know what you think of this chapter too! Do you have any predictions? Who is going to show up next? I really appreciate your comments!


End file.
